Bucs sweep state outdoor track meet

There was a sense of déjà vu for the Hoover High School track and field team after the state outdoor meet.

In a repeat of the state indoor meet, Hoover swept the boys and girls Class 7A titles at the state outdoor meet, capping off a banner school year for the Buccaneers program.

The state meet was held May 5-7 in Gulf Shores. Hoover scored in all but one event in each of the boys and girls meets in a masterful performance.

“I’m very pleased. We showed we’re a very well-rounded team on both sides,” first-year Hoover coach Chris Schmidt said. “I can’t speak highly enough of the coaches for preparing the athletes who stepped up and rose to the occasion.”

The girls blew away the competition, scoring 120 points. That was 45 more than second-place Vestavia Hills. Hewitt-Trussville finished third, Auburn fourth and Spain Park fifth. The boys battled with Vestavia Hills throughout the meet but managed 126 points to Vestavia’s 114 to win. Auburn performed well and finished third, with Hewitt-Trussville finishing fourth.

The Hoover girls dominated the relay events, winning the 4x100- and 4x400-meter races. The 4x100 team finished in a blistering 47.17 seconds, with the 4x400 team winning in 3:53.24. The 4x800 team finished third.

The 4x400 relay team on the boys side won in 3:16.31, while the 4x800 team ended up second, and the 4x100 team was third.

Jay Avery was one of three individual winners for the Bucs. He won the triple jump with a distance of 49 feet, 1.5 inches. Bradley Shaw won the discus competition with a throw of 152-6. Collin Pate headlined a brilliant pole vault for the Bucs, as he won the competition, while Carter Ellis finished third and Connor White placed fifth.

On the track, Jebreiya Chapman was fifth in the 100-meter dash, while Gabrielle Washington, Chapman and Layla Wilson finished fourth, fifth and sixth in the 200. Daisy Luna, McKenzie Blackledge and Washington came across second, third and fifth in the 400, with Blackledge also posting a third-place finish in the 800. 

Lila Hunter finished sixth in the 3,200 and 10th in the 1,600. Amyah Ellington was fifth in the 300-meter-hurdles.

In the field, Laurin Mack was second in long jump and fourth in triple jump, while Nyel Settles was seventh in triple jump. Three girls scored in pole vault, with Alex Inglis, Kirsten Leonard and Becca Guerard going second, fifth and eighth. Nicolette Lewis was fourth in discus, Sydney Durban finished eighth in javelin and Tyra Watkins was eighth in shot put.

On the boys side, Dallas Beck and DeMarion Gardner each scored points in the 200 and 400. Cannon Peters was fourth in the 800, and Charles Morris was fourth in the 1,600 and fifth in the 3,200. RJ Torbor finished sixth in the 110 hurdles and eighth in triple jump, with Sam Kilgore coming across sixth in the 300 hurdles. 

Avery had a standout meet in the other field events as well, finishing second in long jump and fourth in high jump. Nick Ragland and George Mann scored in javelin, and Bradley Shaw was second in shot put. 

Spain Park’s Mackenzie Culpepper had a brilliant showing to cap off her high school career. She won the 400- and 800-meter dashes, while finishing second in the 1,600. She ran the 400 in 56.68 seconds and completed the 800 in 2:12.21.

Keon Buck finished third in the 100-meter dash for Spain Park, while John Landers was second in the pole vault. Connor Blair in pole vault and Jonas Harrelson in discus also scored points for the team.

Spain Park’s Delaney Vickers was fourth in the 800, sixth in the 1,600 and seventh in the 400. The 4x400-meter relay team was second.